Landfall in Cape Cod

We left the Brooklyn marina on the 23rd with the intention of sailing directly to Cape Cod. We were traveling with three other boats: REBOOT, HOBO II, and, EXCALIBER. The latter boat had been in there for about a month with engine trouble and was finally ready to join us in the move south.
Once underway, the wind had died down and on came the engines, at which point EXCALIBER found he had water in his fuel. So he left he flotilla and we have not heard from him since. And then there three.

Brooklyn, Nova Scotia

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

The supposed 3-day weather window abruptly shut when we rounded the 'corner' off Brazil Rock and we decided to seek shelter from the strong adverse winds that would blow us north. We made for Yarmouth to await favourable winds.
We had a chance to look around the town and it had the look and feel of a dying town at the edge of the world. As everywhere in Nova Scotia the people were very friendly, so our brief stay was pleasant.
The fair winds returned so our flotilla of three left port at midnight in thick fog to take advantage of the high-tide currents. This was the first time that Maggie and I did anything like that, so it was exciting. Once out we set sail westbound for Cape Cod.

Voyage across the Gulf of Maine

Cape Cod

The passage is 230 nm. long, so we were going to be out for over 48 hours. There are strong currents that flow in and out of the Gulf of Maine, to and from the Bay of Fundy, so winds and currents can create some confused seas. The northeasterly wind that was blowing us on a downwind tack was creating some impressive seas, but it was taking its toll on HOBO II's autopilot and Jim had to hand steer the entire time. Without being able to rest, Jim decided to head for Gloucester. As I write this, we have not heard of Jim's safe arrival, but our traveling companion on REBOOT has put out the word through the Maritime Mobile Net on ham frequency 14.300 mhz to keep a look out for him.
The entire crew of H20B0 was greatly relieved to pick up the mooring in Provincetown for a good night sleep. Only Sophie managed to get any shut-eye during the entire 46 hour passage. We came in with fog and woke up to sunshine. Unfortunately, Provincetown is not a customs entry point, so we cannot leave the boat. We will stay on the ball until we leave tomorrow morning bound for the Cape Cod Canal and Groten, CT.
NEWS FLASH: HOBO II has been located in Rockport, ME, and we will meet up with him later on.

Moving on from Hubbard's Cove

Well, we got Maggie's nose fixed in Bridgewater last Tuesday and it was time to leave. We needed a good short trip to shrug off the spell of bucolic Hubbard's Cove. The people that we met there were, without exception, wonderful. We could have easily stayed longer and enjoyed the hospitality of the folks there and the companionship of our friends down the road, but it is getting cold and it is time to move on if we still intend to follow the warmth.

Lunenburg from the harbour

Lunenburg was the perfect destination: far away enough to make us feel that we covered some ground and very picturesque. We had been there earlier in the summer with our friends, Terri and Drew, but we hitchhiked from the town of Mahone Bay, where we were docked. Lunenburg is so pretty that we had to stay on a wharf so that we could easily disembark and walk around.  

We figured that we would have to spend a couple of days in Lunenburg to wait for some decent weather to get us down the coast. It is getting tricky because gales are blowing in the north and hurricanes are still passing in the Atlantic.

Earlier on we had met some cruisers who had said that they remembered seeing us in Whitby, which was a mystery because we never stopped there. The confusion arose because there is another Corbin sailboat on Lake Ontario called HOBO II, and it had left this summer sailing down the St. Lawrence. Not a half hour after we docked in Lunenburg, HOBO II docked alongside us with its crew of one – Jim. He left Penatanguishine and sailed to Newfoundland for a family reunion and is making his way down to Panama bound for the Pacific Ocean. Seeing us cleared up a similar confusion his friends who were tracking his progress on ShipTrak were having. They were seeing us, H2OBO, instead of him and were insisting that his boat name was wrongly spelled. A good chuckle was had by all.  

Jim had told us that he had met another solo sailor, named Roger, on a boat called REBOOT in St. John's, NFLD. Roger pulled in the next day in his Catalina 42. We all got together and agreed that we would buddy boat down the eastern seaboard together.  So together we will be for the next few weeks.

After three nights in scenic Lunenburg, we had a chance to leave and we set out for Brooklyn, N.S. We are currently at the Brooklyn Marina and enjoying the warm hospitality of the folks here. On the western shore of the cove is the Bowater Mersey pulp mill; check out how they unload the highway tractors carrying wood fibre!

That is a highway tractor hauling two trailers!

Our little flotilla will likely be here for a couple more days as we wait for a weather window to head down the coast and then to cross the Gulf of Maine. Maggie and I are using the time to do a little maintenance and to make a few changes on the boat. Sophie also went to nearby Liverpool for a visit to the vet to get her rabies shot so that she can enter the U.S.

We just finished a supper of freshly caught mackeral that a young fellow named Brandon caught for us here in the cove. Later Maggie and I will be rocked gently to sleep as a 30 kt wind blows H2OBO at its mooring.  What bliss!

Branko

Birthday Nose Job

Every year, on my birthday I read the Globe and Mail,  and the Toronto Star's 'if today is your birthday' section of the horoscopes.
Last year,  as I moved on to the boat,  left my job and became a full time boat builder with Branko - my horoscope stated that next year at this time,   I would be surprised with where I would be.   I laughed at this,   thinking no way could I be surprised,  since I could be anywhere.

Well I was surprised.

Sunday September 12th  I was standing beside a flogging jib sheet.  it hit me in the face with a force that broke my nose in two places.  I quickly submerged my face in the freezer,  using a semi-frozen pork loin to  stop the pain - I soon moved to frozen vegetables as they were more pliable and did not leak meat juice down my face.

I thought it was just a bruise,  but when Branko looked, my nose was now S shaped.  Off to Emergency - thank goodness for Margaret, and Ken's truck - nothing could be done in emergency,  nor the next day at the clinic with the plastic surgeon -  however Tuesday September 14th, my birthday, saw me suiting up for surgery -the gown, the fasting, the cardiogram (say what??) and the requisite waiting period.

All was good though,  the plastic surgeon began our first conversation with "let me look at your sna-az"  and well,  I was hooked - he was great cause I got to put my clothes back on, got my nose frozen (hurt like heck) and then he casually "re-set" my nose back to its original straight beak.

You should see the other guy....

Voila,  I got a nose job for my birthday.  And yes, Branko is taking credit for the "job" as a birthday gift...

Maggie